Building form for concrete structures and the like



April 1, 1924.. 1,489,074

I E. FLAGG BUILDING FORM FOR CONCRETE STRUCTURES AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 24. 1921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2 v 1 a 5 5 4 Z/ A. /1"

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A TTOR/VEYS Patented Apr. 1, 1924.

ED STATES ERNEST FLAGG, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

BUILDING FORTE FOR CONCRETE STRUCTURES AND THE LIKE.

Application filed February 24, 1921. Serial No. 447,453.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST FLAGG, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, lborough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Building Form for Concrete Structures and the like, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to a building form used in erecting concrete structures.

An object of the invention is to save material, labor, time and trouble in the use of forms for concrete and masonry.

Another object resides in the provision of a structure wherein there is a minimum of waste of material and in which the handling of the material is such that it can be used over and over again for the same purpose.

A further object of the invention resides in the provision of a structure or form which can be simply and elliciently erected with a minimum expenditure of time to form a rigid, compact structure or form with respect to which concrete may be quickly disposed in place.

A. still further object resides in the particular construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawings.

In the usual manner of making such forms and erecting concrete structures, it is customary to nail the boards used as the molds to wooden uprights. By this procedure the lumber is practically useless for any other purpose and, therefore, wasted, and the cost is so great that the saving. which should result from the use of such forms is in a great measure lost. My invention aims to eliminate the use of nails and the waste of lumber. My structure is of such nature that the form can be used to build a concrete or masonry device of any desired dimensions, the building of the structure taking place in sections, so that the same form can be used for the erection of each section in the proper sequence.

The invention is shown in the drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of my building structure or form in place ready to erect a further section of a concrete wall or building on a section previously formed;

Figure 2 is a cross section through the wall and Figure 3 is a plan showing the top of the foundation wall.

The preferred embodiment of my invention, as shown in the drawings, comprises a quickly and easily assembled building form or structure of lumber of the proper dimensions which can be erected above or in relation to a foundation wall 1 which has been previously built into the ground in any suitable manner. At intervals alon the top of this Wall 1 are disposed a plurality of so-called sleepers 2 which rest on the wall and project beyond it on either side far enough to receive upright beams or members 3. The foundation Wall 1 is built either with or Without forms and finished off true and smooth at any designated level, usually that of the clamp-proof coating. The sleepers 2 are, as shown in Figure 2, tapered toward one end and usually greased before they are laid on the top of the foundation wall.

The ends of the sleepers 2 are provided with suitable holes or apertures into which project pins 4 disposed on adjacent ends of the upright members 3. The other ends of said members 3 are provided with suit able apertures into which pins fastened to the ends of adjacent sections of upright members may project when one section of upright members 3 is used on top of another section. The cross pieces or sleepers 2 are slightly tapered toward one end, and when the masonry is inserted in the form, become embedded in the wall. By reason of their being tapered and greased, however, they may be easily driven out when no longer needed and the holes may be filled up. The uprights 3, of which there may be any numher on each side of the proposed wall, stand on either side of the wall at a definite distance from its outer and inner faces to allow space for the planks or boards 5 which are to hold the masonry or concrete in place and also to allow room for strips or sticks of wood 6, generally about an inch or more square in cross section and from two to three feet long, which stand between the planks 5 and the adjacent face of the upright members 3. These sticks 6 are called release sticks. These upright members 8 have holes such as 7 bored through them at intervals throughout their length from top to bottom. These holes are generally bored at one side of the central axis of the uppins 4, which may be made of iron pipe set into the ends oi the upright members 3, fit into corresponding holes in the cross pieces or sleepers 2, as above mentioned. In setting the upright members 3, it is usual to erect the corner members first and temporarily brace them to stakes driven in the ground. Thus placed, they act both as guides and supports in setting the others. When all the uprights are in place, the temporary braces of the corner uprights are removed and diagonal braces, such as 8 in Figure 1, are applied by bolting to neighboring uprights on each side.

At their tops, the upright members 3 are held togeth r by light frames of wood, called alignment trusses. These trusses are formed of longitudinal strips provided with crossbars '10 against which the upper ends of the upright members 3 rest, and also with diagonal braces 11, as shown particularly in Fig ure 1. The uprights 3 are held securely against these frames by such means as bolts or wires (not shown). It wires are used, they are looped about each pair of uprights and then twisted to make thorn taut, as represented by the numeral 12 in Figures 1 and 2. The alignment trusses are supported at any convenient height by such means as toggle pins 13 which are passed through the holes 7 in the uprights. The trusses when in place are braced with respect to each other by diagonal, horizontal strips 14, as shown in Figure 1, extending from one truss to another, or, if the span is not too great, transversely across the building. These strips 14: act both as struts and ties, maintaining the trusses and, consequently, the uprights in proper relative position.

lVhen the uprights are thus set in place, the planks 5 are laid against them, forming a sort of trough which is to be filled with concrete or masonry. Usually thistrough is only one or two planks deep at a time, other planks being added as the work progresses. The first planks rest on the cross pieces, upon which the uprights stand. These planks 5, however, do not come in direct contact with the uprights 3 but are separated from them by the release sticks 6. They are held firmly against these release sticks 6 by small pieces of wood called spreaders, which are designated in Figure 8 by the ntuneral 15. These spreaders are slightly longer than the pro posed wall is thick, and are shoved in between the planks to hold them apart and in place before the masonry or concrete is introduced. When the concrete is being introduced, these spreaders may be taken out.

After the wall has been built to any .de sired height, the lower planks or boards 5, which have acted as a form to hold the wall in place during the setting of the cement up to this level, may easily be taken .out and inserted at a higher level. This is done by knocking out the release sticks 6 from between the desired planks and uprights so that the planks may be drawn out. Before withdrawing any lower plank, however, it is necessary to prevent the upper planks, which have been previously resting on the lower ones, from falling down when their support is withdrawn. This is done by inserting a short, pointed iron bar, called a toggle pin, represented by the numeral 13, which passes through the holes 7 of the uprights and engages the surface of the planks directly above those planks which are to be released. A slight tap on the toggle pin is suiiicient to engage it with the plank. It will, therefore, be seen that by the use of this arrangement, as soon as the cement at the lower level is suificiently set the planks may be withdrawn and used again at a higher level. This enhances the economy in the use of lumber.

From time to time as the work proceeds, stout wire, such as has previously been referred to and designated by the numeral 12, is looped about each pair of uprights and twisted to make it taut. This wire becomes embedded in the masonry and is left there, the projecting ends being cutoff when the uprights are removed. These wires act as SUSPIKM'tS for the uprights 3 as long as the uprights are needed.

Tl lien it is desired to carry the work to a greater height than a single story, the up rights which stand in the building are generally removed when the floor beams are set, and again erected at the higher level, resting on those beams. This is very convenient, because it is not always possible to withdraw planks from inside of the wall in the manner above described on account of the re-ent-rant angles formed by the walls. When the inner uprights are thus removed, the alignment trusses above described, and which brace the uprights at the top, are also removed for use at a higher level. The outer upri hts, which remain in place, are now sufficiently braced by the wall itself, each one being anchored to the wall by means of the twisted wires, such as 12 above described. The second tier of outer uprights is placed on top of the first, the pin, such as l, in the bottom of one upright being received in the hole in the top oi the upright below. This process is repeated at each succeeding story.

Where window, door or other openings in the wall are to occur, a form is set up against which the masonry or concrete stops. This form, represented in Figure 3 by the numeral 16, together with the permanent frame for the opening, such as a window 17, occupies the full space between the planks 5 on opposite sides of the concrete wall. The form 16 is splayed so that it may easily be drawn out when the planks and inner uprights are removed. The frame, such as a window frame 17, has anchorage members, such as battens 18, which become embedded in the concrete or masonry and thereby cause the frame to be held securely and permanently in position in the wall. The form 16 and the frame 17 are not, however, attached rigidly to each other since after the wall is erected the form 16 is removed.

Besides the duties and functions above specified, the uprights 3 also perform a most useful function in connection with scaffolding and runways for the materials used in building. To make the scaffold or runway, it is simply necessary to bolt horizontal cross pieces, such as 19 shown in Figure 1, on which a scaffold plank may be laid, between the uprights 8 when conveniently spaced, or between them and auxiliary uprights such as 20 which are placed where necessary. This operation is greatly facilitated by the holes in the uprights.

It, therefore, is readily apparent from a consideration of the construction and operation of the building form embodying my invention, that I have provided a simple, compact form which can be easily and economically erected for the purpose of constructing concrete or masonry structures of any desired type. The erection and fashioning of this form requires a minimum expenditure of time and labor and the use of a minimum amount of lumber which is so handled as to be capable of being repeatedly used over a long period of time, these advantages thereby eifecting a great economy in the various ways above mentioned.

It, of course, will be understood that minor modifications can be made in the arrangement and construction of the parts and operation of them in actual use without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A building form for concrete wall construction, which comprises a plurality of uprights disposed on both sides of the space to be occupied by the wall, a mold board or plank adapted to form a mold for the wall, said board being disposed adjacent the uprights, each of said uprights having a plurality of holes therein, and a pin having a pointed end adapted to be placed in any desired hole and forced sufficiently into the surface of the plank to hold it in any desired position.

2. In a concrete Wall construction, the combination of a plurality of uprights disposed along the sides of a wall and each having a plurality of apertures therein, a mold board to be disposed along the inner surface of the uprights, a pin to be disposed in any one of the apertures in each upright having an end adapted to be forced slightly into the adjacent surface of the board to hold it at a desired elevation, a bracing frame disposed against the upper ends of the uprights to space said ends, and additional pins projecting through the upper apertures in the uprights to support the frame.

3. In a concrete wall construction, the combination of a plurality of uprights disposed along the sides of a wall and each having a plurality of apertures therein, a

mold board to be disposed along the inner surface of the uprights, a pin to be disposed in any one of the apertures in each upright having an end adapted to be forced slightly into the adjacent surface of the board to hold it at a desired elevation, a bracing frame disposed against the upper ends of the uprights to space said ends, additional pins projecting through the upper apertures in the uprights to support the frame, and tie wires extending between the uprights on opposite sides of the wall to hold their upper ends firmly against the bracing frame and to furnish a support for the uprights in the concrete after the frame has been removed.

ERNEST FLAGG. 

